There's a woman at JR Motorsports who had to make a tough decision on making a career of racing in NASCAR. It's not Danica Patrick. It's Kelley Earnhardt, the woman who signed the IndyCar dynamo to a two-year deal with the Nationwide team.

Danica Patrick isn't running a 36-race season in the Sprint Cup Series yet, but her offseason schedule seems as hectic as any in-demand NASCAR star. Here's what she had to say during an exclusive Dec. 8 interview with USA TODAY motor sports writer Nate Ryan:

Milka Duno will join fellow IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick at next week's ARCA test at Daytona International Speedway. Duno will drive a stock car for the first time at the test. It will be a Toyota owned by Braun Racing.

Danica Patrick has signed with JR Motorsports and will make her stock car racing debut in an ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway. The IndyCar sensation unveiled her green and orange No. 7 Chevrolet at Chase Field on Tuesday.

The most popular drivers in NASCAR and IndyCar are joining forces. IndyCar star Danica Patrick, who became the first woman to win an oval-track race in a national touring series last year, will reveal Tuesday she will drive for the NASCAR Nationwide Series team co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., according to two executives involved with racing with knowledge of the deal who requested anonymity pending an official announcement.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. says negotiations are still ongoing with Danica Patrick, but he's not sure if a deal will be completed with JR Motorsports. Earnhardt's team fields Nationwide Series cars and the second-tier series is the likely starting point for the IndyCar driver.

Danica Patrick unveiled a new neon green look Monday morning for her No. 7 Dallara-Honda. But as the Indy Racing League's most popular driver made the rounds on national talk shows, the big question didn't involve her IndyCar Series ride.

Rick Hendrick says he has no deal to bring IndyCar superstar Danica Patrick to NASCAR, and there's no certainty she'll even be driving stock cars next season. Patrick was reported to be in the final stages of a contract that would partner her on a limited Nationwide Series schedule with JR Motorsports.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. says a deal to put Danica Patrick in his Nationwide Series car isn't imminent, and even if it were, JR Motorsports wouldn't necessarily have the funding for the IndyCar Series' most popular driver.